Thurso set to lose tourist information centre

The Tourist Information Centre at Caithness Horizons will close within the next two years.

THURSO is set to lose its tourist information centre as Visit Scotland have announced it is closing 39 branches across the country.

The Tourist Information Centre in Thurso is located at the Caithness Horizons Museum and will close within the next two years.

The tourist information centre in Wick is not affected by the closures.

The VisitScotland Information Centre network will reduce from 65 centres to 26 high impact regional hubs.

The organisation said the decision was in response to the popularity of digital services among visitors resulting in a 58 per cent drop in footfall to VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland in the past 10 years.

Chairman of VisitScotland Lord Thurso said: “The way visitors access information has changed significantly over the past decade. It’s time to switch our focus and investment into new and diverse initiatives to ensure we are reaching as many people as possible with the information they want, in the way they want it, when they want it.

“With three in four adults now owning a smartphone, a key focus is ensuring our digital communications provide succinct inspirational and informational advice to visitors at every stage of their journey.

However, we know that speaking to locals is also important to our visitors and with our 26 high footfall travel hubs, over 1500 VisitScotland Information Partners and our team of outreach staff travelling around the country, it means that there is always advice on what to see and do and where to go wherever people are.

“The information revolution is upon us and technology has been a game-changer over the past 10 years."